Excerpt from The Midnight Mummer, and Other Poems One always thinks he has many things to say in his preface until he sets himself to the task. Then, he finds shockingly few things to say; especially in defense of another volume of poems Yet even near-poets are not cowards about their verses although they quake at thinking of any one else reading them: for men may see faults they themselves cannot correct. But these men furnish the stepping stones on which some very great singer may mount to an immortal stage; they hold the goal flags beyond which he must go if he is really to say the imperishable thing: and hence may be forgiven all their imperfections. For the spirit whose breath they speed is God's greatest gift to men. What could He plan better for us than the goodly boon of a great man? And to that man, what message could he impart better than a great thought? And, for that thought, what excellence could He desire higher than a great form? And, of great forms of expression of thought, what will compare with the gentle rhythm of musical words? That is why we cherish our poets as well as laugh at their counterfeits. We refuse to let them die. At the head of every national literature we place one of them as premier of all in the fine art of immortalizing thought. So even the near-poet has his uses and, for the sake of the music he hastens, may ask forgiveness for all his discords. The lute is not broken; it awaits the breath of a master; the master who has his own hour for making music that must last. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.